Miami Dolphins Players Kneel During National Anthem at First NFL Preseason Game

Preseason NFL football starts this week and it didn’t take long before players protesting during the national anthem found its way back into the headlines.

During the national anthem prior to a game between the Miami Dolphins and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, three Dolphins players either knelt or raised a fist in protest.

Wide receivers Kenny Stills and Albert Wilson knelt on the sideline and defensive end Robert Quinn raised his fist.

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Earlier this year, the NFL drew up a new policy that required all players to stand for the national anthem. In July, the NFL then decided to scrap that idea and work with the NFL Players Association to come up with a solution.

Prior to the NFL’s retraction of the anthem rule, the Miami Dolphins came up with a team rule that stated that players who protest could be fined or suspended.

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Three weeks into the negotiations and nothing has been solved. With just a month left before the season starts, time is running out fast.

Not every player supports protesting during the anthem, however.

Last week, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott spoke out against kneeling during the national anthem, saying he is “not at all tempted” to kneel since is not the time or place for a protest, and that he would “never protest during the anthem.”

“It’s bigger than I think some of us think,” Prescott said. “It’s just important for me to go out there, hand over my heart, represent our country and just be thankful and not take anything I’ve been given and my freedom for granted.”

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“I never protest during the anthem, and I don’t think that’s the time or the venue to do so,” said Prescott. “The game of football has always brought me such a peace, and I think it does the same for a lot of people, a lot of people playing the game, a lot of people watching the game, a lot of people that have any impact of the game.”

“So when you bring such a controversy to the stadium, to the field, to the game, it takes away. It takes away from that. It takes away from the joy and the love that football brings to a lot of people.”

Cowboys star running back Ezekiel Elliott also voiced his support of standing for the national anthem.

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“We’re the Dallas Cowboys. America’s team. We stand for the national anthem,” said Elliott.